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Outdoor retailer Patagonia is hitting back at Donald Trump after the president made the announcement that he will be reducing the size of Utah’s two national monuments—in a move many say is illegal. The company blacked out their website and took out ads that read: “The President Stole Your Land.”
Trump made the announcement in the state yesterday and justified the dramatic reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments by saying that he is giving states more power.
Meanwhile hundreds showed up to protest in Salt Lake City and blocking the president from leaving by chanting “Whose Land? Our Land.”
Other outdoor companies also took action. REI encouraged people to change their social-media profiles to a picture that read “We (Hear) Our Public Lands).
“The Administration’s unlawful actions betray our shared responsibility to protect iconic places for future generations and represent the largest elimination of protected land in American history,” says Patagonia’s president and CEO Rose Marcario, in a statement. “We’ve fought to protect these places since we were founded and now we’ll continue that fight in the courts.”


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Capcom announced today that Umbrella Corps will be launching for PS4 and PC via digital distribution this May in North America and Europe, and May 12 in Japan.
Umbrella Corps is a Resident Evil-themed multiplayer shooter that will support one to six players. The game is primarily focused on competitive team battles, though there is a single-player mode called “The Experiment” that helps players familiarize themselves with the world of Umbrella Corps in more than 20 missions with various objectives. The developer describes it as a “coliseum style horde-like mode” that “strips players of the Zombie Jammer device that provides perilous protection in multiplayer modes.”
In addition, Capcom also announced that the famed village from Resident Evil 4 has been retooled for multiplayer matches and the Tricell Organization from Resident Evil 5 has a newly imagined headquarters to explore.
Check out the trailer below:

domain: news


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PP, PE players’ June expectations soft in Africa, Egypt
In Egypt, a film manufacturer reported that demand remains weak amidst softer expectations for June. "Supplies are good while end product demand remains disappointing with players expecting decreases for the upcoming month,” commented the converter.
Another manufacturer in Egypt confirmed the weakness in demand ahead of Ramadan and said, “We expect softer prices for June given the disappointing market activities. Many players abandoned the import purchases this month due to their very high levels.”
In Kenya, a trader said that Mid-Eastern suppliers revised their offers by down to $70/ton for PE compared to initial May offers whereas PP offers were mostly rolled over compared to the previous month.
“Supplies are comfortable for all grades while demand is still thin, which causes softer expectations for June. Despite price decreases, many producers are still open to further negotiations in order to improve their sales," added the trader.
In Nigeria, a manufacturer noted that buying interest towards import materials is sluggish as many PP and PE players are securing their needs from the local producer, ELEME, to avoid high landing costs of the import cargoes.
On the other hand, a different player in the region claimed that new June offers may come with rollovers from May following the recent gains in the global crude oil markets while they are expecting decreases in deals as was the case in the previous months.
Crude oil futures closed Friday above $50/bbl on NYMEX while they are still above this threshold in daily trading today. Brent futures, meanwhile, settled above $53/bbl on Friday, trading close to $54/bbl today.
More free plastics newsPlastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...
- Freight rates near pre-Covid levels as pace of normalization accelerates
- Bleak outlook for Q1 keeps European PP, PE buyers sidelined
- PLAST EURASIA 2022: Eyes on Russian and US supplies with demand woes in focus
- December PE offers to SE Asia imply further drops, yet to respond to China
- Has the bear market for Asian PVC almost run its course?
- Demand outlook for crude oil dims amid China worries
- Asian styrene prices rebound from almost two-year lows
- Turkey’s PE market on brink of new drops for December
- Signs of optimism in China PP and PE markets, but caution remains
- Egypt’s import PP, PE markets flat but domestic prices turn upwards in Nov


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NEW DELHI: Fantasy gaming platform Mobile Premier League
's subsidiary arm 'MPL Sports Apparel and Accessories
' is the new kit sponsor of the Indian cricket team
for a period of three years.
A member of the Apex Council confirmed the development on Monday that BCCI
has inked the apparel and merchandise deal with MPL, replacing Nike
"Yes, Apex Council has passed the sponsorship deal for apparel of Indian team (men, women, A and U19).
"However the rate per match will be Rs 65 lakh per game instead of Rs 88 lakh that Nike was giving," the senior official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
It is learnt that BCCI will also get 10 percent of the royalty from the sale of merchandise.
"MPL has formed an apparel manufacturing company. They will also pay an amount for merchandise contract. The deal will end in November, 2023," the source added.
While Puma and Adidas had earlier picked up the bid papers for apparel sponsorship, they didn't fill the bid as they felt that the deal needed to be reduced to one third from the original bid.
Nike had a five year deal during which they paid Rs 370 crore from 2016 to 2020 with a 30 crore royalty.
"No sporting apparel major was ready to pay that kind of money that Nike paid in current economic climate (due to COVID-19).
"One of the major reasons being merchandise items being very costly for common public," the source said.
MPL is currently associated with two IPL franchises (KKR and RCB), one CPL franchise (TKR) and the cricket
boards of Ireland and the UAE.


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Smart sportswear faces mass production challenges
Smartlife COO Martin Ashby reveals ultimately what matters is the transferal of information for every day use
Athletes are increasingly using clothing embedded with sensors and biometric tools to measure their performance. But while the industry is edging closer to adapting these products for the mass market, the overriding challenge is the garments' washability.
Although wearable technology is already integrated into garments for use in the professional sports sector, Martin Ashby, chief operating officer of smart garment technology specialist Smartlife, told delegates at last week's Wearable Technology Show in London that ultimately, what matters is how the information presented from the kit can be “transferred” for every day use by amateur sports enthusiasts.
Technology “cannot replace full training staff and medical doctors,” agreed Markus Strecker, chief executive officer and founder of technology brand Teiimo, adding that it can help people who are interested in improving their fitness, such as weight management, and health issues.
Yet the biggest problem holding back mass market adoption is the simple issue of washing the garments themselves. During the conference, experts faced questions on how the garments can be cleaned and how long it is likely to be before an all-in-one could pass washability standards without having to remove any parts.
It seems the key issue is, understandably, the battery. According to Simon Weatherall, founder of wearable technology company Glofaster, waterproofing the circuits with a fine coating over the electronics is “possible”, but it is not cost effective.
Thomas Claussen, CEO of Ambiotex, which has launched a smart shirt that measures biometric data, agrees that improvements to the batteries are key to future progression. Speaking on the sidelines on the conference, he said: "I predict in two or three years time the box", which holds the battery and the electronics themselves, "will evaporate. It will certainly get smaller as the batteries get smaller because the batteries determine the size, not the electronics."
Ashby added that as the electronics in the Smartlife kit are IP6 integrated, the challenge experts face is not the water itself but the temperature. When designing garments for commercial use the product must pass tests of generally 50-60 wash cycles, but when the kit is treated at 90 degree temperatures and spun at 1000RPM, this is not a “usual usage case.” Ashby believes the units will have to be considerably more robust.
Speaking separately to just-style, Smartlife chief technical officer Ben McCarthy predicts that “visions and small pockets of testing are going to start to creep out in market”. According to McCarthy, other companies are in similar positions to Smartlife where, “we have something, we've tested it, it's working and we're now spending money to try and make it mass-producible, but that is really complicated and is taking a lot of effort.”
He adds: “There is a whole raft of learning and understanding around how you can better train yourself, improve your sport, improve your fitness around your heart rate but most people do not know how to use it. If you told me my heart rate I would not know how to interpret that. We need to make it easy and tell people what that means.”
While consumers are “not interested” in such details like their heart rate, he notes, the fact they are interested in “how they can change what they are doing in order to improve” demonstrates, along with the issue of washability, what wearable technology companies need to strive for in order to break into mass market.
Click on the following links for further insight on smart textiles and connected garments:
- Steps to piloting living wage in garment factories
- How to ensure sustainability is more than a slogan
- US apparel retailers' November 2016 sales roundup
- Why do modern robotics elude sportswear makers?
- Software for financial planning and operations
- Esquel efficiency drive continues to boost brands
- US Q3 in brief – Oxford Industries, Genesco
- Myanmar garment industry "lacking labour rights"
- Taiwan textile maker investing in first US plant
- Outdoor apparel sector set for double-digit growth


text: USAA is offering thousands of its employees a food benefit to help them make it through the coronavirus outbreak. The San Antonio-based company is joining forces with a food service provider to provide cut-rate groceries to almost 35-thousand USAA employees nationwide. The workers can place weekday orders for curbside pickup of grocery staples and prepared meals. The groceries are sold at cost, and the meals at half price. The program covers employees working from home or at the office.


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Casio wins coveted NAMM Award11:17, 8th February 2019
Casio Music’s PX-S3000 digital piano has been named as one of the winners of NAMM’s Best in Show ‘Gotta Stock It’ Award 2019. Unveiled at this year’s NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) trade show in California, Casio showcased its new PX-S digital pianos alongside its ultra-compact CDP-S range.
Two Casio models – the PX-S1000 and PX-S3000 – mark the latest generation of the brand’s Privia range, the world’s slimmest digital pianos with an 88-key weighted hammer action. Taking their cue from the slogan ‘Slim, Stylish, Smart’, both instruments are extremely compact and compatible with smart technology.
Featuring a newly developed Smart Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard, the models offer a natural piano touch and stylish touchscreen interface. They also boast a Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR sound source, capable of producing an accurate acoustic sound-field, plus Bluetooth audio reproduction – some of the most cutting-edge features to date.
‘We are absolutely thrilled to be presented with this accolade,’ said Neil Evans, Casio’s head of electronic musical instruments. ‘It is a testament to Casio’s hard work and energy that has gone into developing groundbreaking products. The new Privia series is yet another example of our commitment to push the boundaries in musical instrument development.’
In addition to revealing the Privia series, Casio introduced two ultra-compact digital pianos: the CDP-S100 and CDP-S350. Both instruments come equipped with a new sound engine, the Dynamic Stereo Sound source, resulting in a smoother touch gradient and enhanced dynamic range, plus Casio’s Scaled Hammer Action II Keyboard with simulated ebony and ivory textured keys.
The new PX-S models will be available from April 2019


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Agency: Leo Burnett
Littlewoods.com, the online and home shopping retailer, has launched a new
television advertising campaign featuring leading fashion icon and face of Littlewoods, Coleen Rooney.
‘Nice Boots Camp’ campaign launches on the 1st September and runs for six weeks.
Created by Leo Burnett and featuring Nancy Sinatra’s, ‘These Boots Are Made for
Walking,’ the advert was filmed on location at Bentley Priory, Herts using over 35 extras.
The 60” and 40” TV adverts show Coleen and her band of drill sergeants putting some new recruits through their fashion paces at the Littlewoods’ Nice Boots Camp.
We see the girls polishing high-heels in the barracks, practising how to “change arms” with handbags, taking on the assault course and learning to march in time.
The ad finishes with the standard passing out parade and the girls all looking fabulously fashionable thanks to Littlewoods’ stylish products and Coleen’s style advice and guidance.
Viewers are encouraged to “Enrol in Nice Boots Camp” and are directed to the Littlewoods website where there will be competitions, music downloads and fashion
advice from Coleen.
“We are delighted with the ‘Nice Boots’ campaign and Coleen has proved to be an inspirational style ambassador for Littlewoods. We are looking forward to continuing our collaboration in the future,” said Shop Direct Group’s Retail Director, Gareth Jones.


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Peugeot has unveiled the new Peugeot 408 in China, five years after the brand entered the Chinese market. The presentation was made by Managing Director Jean-Marc Gales to around 300 Chinese journalists and over 700 network representatives.
The new 408 marks Peugeot’s latest offensive in China, building on the strong results posted in 2009. That year, the brand logged a 44-percent year-on-year jump in deliveries to over 410,000 vehicles in the country. Peugeot is hoping to continue its good momentum in the M1 segment, where it logged much success with the 307 saloon and the 307 notch-back.
With the Peugeot 408 DF notchback, -- tailor-made for the Chinese market -- the brand is hoping to further boost Dong Feng Peugeot's product lineup on the M1 segment, which accounts for over 45 percent of the overall vehicle market in China.
In fact, Peugeot is hoping that the new 408 DF notchback would help it hike its sales volume in China in 2010 by around 30 percent, or twice the expected growth of the market.
Designed and developed jointly by Peugeot's designing teams in Europe and China, the Peugeot 408 DF notchback is able to achieve three main objectives: embody the Peugeot’s modernity; guarantee optimal safety; and offer unmatched cabin space.
This new saloon abides by Peugeot’s traditional nomenclature. The number “4” refers to the saloon’s size (4.68 m) and its positioning in the medium-luxury family saloon segment.
Meanwhile, “0” signifies that the car is part of the Peugeot brand. On the other hand, “8” refers to the vehicle generation. This new offering, the Peugeot 408 DF, is manufactured by Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën -- a joint venture set up between PSA Peugeot Citroën and Dong Feng Motors -- at its Wuhan site in China. The company is targeting to sell 100,000 units of the Peugeot DF 408 annually.


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The Australian Institute of Packaging has this year appointed a new National President, Pierre Pienaar FAIP.
Welcomed during the 2010 National Conference, Pierre, believes in the packaging industry and is motivated to take on this role.
“The packaging industry is an industry whose importance is never to be under estimated. The industry and its final product affects every single member of our planet’s population. Not many industries can claim such an impact," says Pierre.
"I feel that as a consumer of both the end product and the remuneration I receive from this industry for my family’s well being, that I have a real responsibility to be giving to the industry in a significant way. This is a competitive industry - from the raw material phase all the way through to the packaging grave. It’s a fast evolving industry and we have a huge responsibility to remain current, to remain educated and to be informed about our chosen industry,” he adds.
Pierre comes into his new role recognising that the Australian Institute of Packaging has, in the past 47 years, been a body passionate about the integrity of packaging in Australia. The institute strives to offer its members, and the packaging industry as a whole, opportunities to learn and be informed about the latest technology, materials, consumer demands and responsibilities related to packaging.
"As National President of this very important institute, I offer a sincere interest in the field of packaging. I want to invite the contribution of thoughts, ideas and energy into making this a vibrant, productive and meaningful industry that focuses always on being responsibility custodians of our earth’s resources,” says Pierre.
During his welcom at the 2010 National Conference, Pierre passed on his thanks to his predecessor in the role of National President, Craig Wellman, noting him as having certainly raised the bar in terms of the profile of the Australian Institute of Packaging and as having been an inspiration and a leader by example by demonstrating to all of those on the Board that a major closures company can be run successfully while still remaining the president of a vibrant Institute.


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The Latest News On The API Economy
Searching: No Search Term , Filtered By Category: "Social", Category: "Marketing", Category: "Media", Category: "Performance"
Less than a month after Twitter introduced Twitter Developer Labs, a program where developers can test and provide feedback on new API features, Twitter has made its first two preview endpoints available under the program. The first two endpoints are GET/users and GET/tweets.
Roughly half a year after Amazon first announced API access to the machine learning technology that drives its own Amazon.com retail business, the AWS team has made Amazon Personalize generally available. In its first release, the API is open to AWS customers in the US, APAC, and EU.
In an apparent effort to improve its developer relations, Twitter has announced its plans to build what it calls "the next generation of the Twitter API." The first step: a new program called Twitter Developer Labs, which will allow developers to test and provide feedback on new API features.
This week at Facebook’s F8 developer conference, the company announced several updates, including changes to the Graph API, a new version of the Marketing API, and a new Facebook Developer Community Forum. Additionally, the company announced a new SDK to enable account verification via WhatsApp.
Snap Inc., developers of the popular mobile application Snapchat, recently announced the release of the Bitmoji for Games SDK. This new SDK will allow partners to easily incorporate Bitmoji animated characters directly into their games.
Facebook has announced that a new isInputPending API it created is included in Chrome 74, the latest version of Google's popular Chrome browser, as an origin trial. The social networking giant created the isInputPending API to address the problem of browser queueing time delays.
Twitter today said it plans to adjust access to two of its APIs beginning later this year. The rate limits, which will impact the User Timeline API and Mentions Timeline API, are meant to give Twitter better visibility into how its APIs are being used by developers to support other businesses.
Twitter has been working to protect their platform from spam and abuse by imposing additional restrictions on new developers. Twitter seems ready to double down on these efforts, as the company today announced that it will soon adjust the rate limits for two Twitter API endpoints.
As many carriers begin to block burst SMS campaigns from short codes and toll free numbers, Bandwidth is empowering businesses with the ability to perform burst campaigns from local numbers. Using 10DLC SMS routes, Bandwidth has introduced its Local A2P API to build trust through local numbers.
Despite the recent privacy snafus from some social media platforms, developers are just as interested in creating social applications as they ever were. Here we take a look at some the social APIs in ProgrammableWeb's directory that get the most traffic, and what developers can do with them.
At the end of last year, LinkedIn announced major changes to its APIs and developer program. Those changes will soon take effect, and developers need to migrate accordingly by March 1. New developer program features, version 2 of its API, and the use of OAuth 2.0 will all be requirements on March 1.
A Mozilla-led coalition recently penned a letter to Facebook, demanding that the company provide open access to the company’s Political Ads API. The group hopes that access to this information will allow researchers and developers to provide tools that analyze political ads served on the platform.
Google recently announced a number of changes coming to the Groups Settings API. The changes include deprecating certain properties and combining others. The effective date of the changes is May 6, 2019, but Google encourages developers to start thinking about the transition now.
Eleven APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories including Internet of Things, eCommerce, and Performance. Highlights include APIs for determining user behavior, optimizing images, and managing cloud contacts. Here's a rundown of the latest additions.
Twitter recently revoked API access for several popular services that offer rapid and automated follow/unfollow functionality. The company claims that these applications were in violation of the platform’s terms and conditions, and had previously been warned about violating the rules.
Eleven APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories including Financial, News Services, and Authentication. Featured APIs include an API for Instagram content publishing for businesses and an API for public records and government transparency. Here's a look at what is new.
Instagram has updated the Content Publishing API, a subset of the Instagram Graph API endpoints, to allow members with business accounts to schedule the publication of video content. Until recently, only direct photo publishing was available through the API.
Google has added a new category of devices for targeting to the AdWords API. Connected TV allows developers to target devices connected to TVs for display and video ads. This applies to smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices such as Chromecast, Roku, and AppleTV.
ProgrammableWeb's Most Clicked, Shared and Talked About APIs of 2018: eCommerce, Marketing, and Social Media
This segment of the past year's APIs focuses on eCommerce, Marketing and Social Media. Sub categories covered here include Advertising, Content, Printing, Products, Catalogs, Subscription, Taxes, Feedback, Auctions, Shipping, Ratings, Personalization, SEO, Engagement and others.
Facebook recently published a story hoping to clarify the nature of several partnerships, which may have provided unwanted access to users’ private messaging data. The announcement came one day after a story claiming that Facebook had been providing this undisclosed access to partners for years.


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After a furor of speculation this weekend that Wal-Mart [WMT] might be the next retailer to carry Apple’s [AAPL] iPhone 3G, a few details have finally emerged. According to Bloomberg, the world’s largest retailer will begin stocking Apple’s 8GB model at the end of December, and selling it for $197 with a two-year AT&T [T] contract. Apple and AT&T sell the device for $2 more at their own outlets.
It’s likely that Wal-Mart will also eventually carry the 16GB version of the device, which Apple and AT&T price at $299.
This will come as a disappointment to anyone following the rumors from the end of last week that Wal-Mart would be exhuming the 4GB model — now discontinued by Apple — and selling it for $99 with contract. That didn’t make much sense, as iPhones are selling briskly even without any bargain-basement incentives. Then again, Wal-Mart is really, really cheap.
Some analysts are still holding on to the $99 iPhone concept, citing it as an inevitable build-out of the company’s mobile product line. But according to Apple, adoption is not a problem; Steve Jobs told analysts in October that the company had sold 10 million iPhones to date, amounting to 1% of the world-wide mobile phone market. Best Buy [BBY] is the only other big-box retailer to sell the iPhone.


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By ET Bureau - February 07, 2020 1 Mins Read
Amazon Web Service (AWS), the cloud computing unit of Amazon, will invest $236 million in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo over the next two years, reports Reuters. The move comes as Amazon aims to strengthen its infrastructure in South America. The investment was announced by São Paulo governor João Doria, after a meeting with Shannon Kellogg, Director, Public Policy at AWS.
AWS will create more jobs, technology and also opportunities for startups in Sao Paulo, said the governor. The move comes from AWS as it strives to expand its online retail in the competitive Brazilian market.
The platform covers e entire enterprise technology space- including emerging technologies like RPA, AI, cloud, automation, and the entire gamut of digital transformation tools, strategies and management decisions.
A Peer Knowledge Resource – By the CXO, For the CXO.
Expert inputs on challenges, triumphs and innovative solutions from corporate Movers and Shakers in global Leadership space to add value to business decision firstname.lastname@example.org


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Palm GPS Navigator 3
Palm has announced the GPS Navigator 3 available for newer Palm Smartphones, including 650, 680, 700p, 700w, 700wx and 750. The unit ships with "The latest TeleAtlas Maps", which we hope will be the very latest maps that were released to vendors in the last quarter of 2006; these represent the upgraded map sets. While Palm released the navigator 3 bundle, they also announced a sale on Navigator 2 software. See the PalmStore for more details.
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Posted by Scott Martin at February 9, 2007 9:06 AM


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Often, when you think about food production, it is only the carbon emissions in terms of fertilizer use, transportation etc that is accounted for. However, food production also has a steep water footprint. The water footprint is yet another environmental yardstick that measures how much water goes into the making of something.
In 2009, the Food Ethics Council (FEC) declared in a report that food products should come with water footprint information in addition to carbon information. Because water scarcity is such a growing problem, they argued that such information will make consumers more aware of the impact of their buying habits.
As a general rule of thumb, crops like sugar and vegetables are more water-intensive than cereals. Meat and dairy are even more water intensive. One cup of fresh coffee needs 140 litres of water to produce while the production of one kilogram of beef requires 16,000 litres of water. According to the FEC report, in order to understand how to reduce our use of water, we need to measure this “embedded” or “virtual” water.
Another recently released report by WRAP and WWF examined how much water is wasted in the UK when food is thrown away. It found that nearly two-thirds of this wasted embedded water originated outside the UK. For example, most ‘summer’ vegetables like tomatoes, melons etc are imported from Spain. It takes 24,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of chocolate, most of which comes from Ghana. According to the Water Footprint Network, a kilogram of tomatoes requires 160 litres of water in comparison.
The report focuses on the water and carbon footprint of wasted household food and drink in the UK for the first time. They hope that this information will highlight the major environmental consequences of food and drink waste in the UK and globally. The Best Foot Forward network recently released an infographic that gives the water footprint of various foods at a glance. They are sustainability consultants who are leading the way in carbon and ecological foot-printing.
According to the Water Footprint Network the water footprint of US citizens is 2840 cubic meter per year per capita. About 20% of this water footprint is external. The largest external water footprint of US consumption lies in the Yangtze river basin, China. The organization has worked to develop the Water Footprint Standard that companies are now using to reduce the water footprint of their products.
Several companies like Pepsico and Coca-Cola have been focusing on reducing their water footprint through innovative initiatives. Including water labels on products may be an effective way to educate consumers about their individual water footprints. For many consumers who are unaware or are on the fence about environmental issues, it may prove to be information overload much like the introduction of carbon information. However, it is a matter of time before consumers start thinking about water and carbon labels as a norm just like we do nutritional information.
Source: Triple Pundit
Water footprints are inherently difficult to accurately calculate due to all the variables of climate, soil type, location and agricultural practices. However, general averages are helpful for comparison purposes and we should be conscious of how much water is used and what environmental impacts our food of choice is responsible for. Also read Water Footprint of Nations and How Big is Your Ecological Footprint?
If you live in South Africa and need environmentally friendly water conservation and solar energy solutions, contact us for a free quote. Our WWF award winning water systems include, rainwater harvesting systems, grey water irrigation systems, grey water recycling systems, swimming pool backwash recycling systems, toilet flush mechanisms and other water-saving devices (see product demo).
We are also authorized South African JoJo Water Tanks dealers and offer the full range of JoJo water tanks and JoJo tank stands. Yes Solar offers high quality solar water heaters to reduce your electricity bills by up to 40%. Offset your carbon footprint by switching to green insurance cover, now available in South Africa! Build green and use eco-friendly bamboo products.


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Call of Duty: Ghosts And Upcoming Halo Appear In UK Retailer’s Listing; Microsoft Responds
UK's retail giant Tesco may have spilled the beans on two of the most awaited upcoming video game titles after Call of Duty: Ghosts and the future Halo title appeared on its listing online.
Tesco listed a possible new Call of Duty title known as Ghosts earlier in the day which revealed that the game is scheduled for a December release and listed Infinity Ward as the developer. Call of Duty, listed under Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, was listed with a box art featuring the Infinity Ward logo on the bottom. The cover art showed a soldier putting on the mask that the character Ghost wore in Modern Warfare 2, Videogamer reports. The developer is known for creating critically acclaimed three Modern Warfare entries in the Call of Duty franchise. Activision has reportedly refused to comment on the report. Call of Duty: Ghosts has previously been rumored to be this year's Call of Duty title and a YouTube user named Drift0r had claimed that the game will branch out of the Modern Warfare series and may moving into a different direction.
In a second leak later in the day, Tesco seemed to confirm that a new Halo is on the way when it outed a product currently listed as "Upcoming Halo." The listing suggested that the new game in the sci-fi shooter series may be headed to Xbox 360 later in the year. "Upcoming Halo' has been listed on the site, along with a generic Xbox 360 box art and (presumably) placeholder December 31, 2013 date," Videogamer reports.
As the news went viral, Microsoft released a statement clarifying that the Tesco listing is bogus. "This listing is not indicative of a Halo product launch." Microsoft said. "We have no news to share of future Halo titles." Although the software giant is yet to announce a future Halo title, it has previously confirmed Halo 5 and Halo 6 as part of the Reclaimer Trilogy.
Tesco has since pulled both listings.


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RangeMe is broadening its offerings for suppliers to help them get products ready for retail faster. The ECRM-owned platform is introducing RangeMe Services, which it said would help suppliers ensure their products are optimized for buyer discovery and are ready for the shelf.
RangeMe Services helps suppliers find, evaluate and connect with service providers for such needs as insurance, design, packaging, photography and labeling. RangeMe noted that all of those elements are key components to being RangeMe Verified, a designation that lets buyers know that a supplier has met all necessary standards that make them business-ready.
“In the CPG industry today, speed is king,” said Nicky Jackson, founder and CEO of RangeMe. “If a product isn’t ready to hit the shelf when a retailer needs it, buyers aren’t going to consider that product as a serious contender to add to their product mix.”
The company noted that, while RangeMe Services can help newer brands get their first retail connection, it also can help established brands stay agile.
“Because of RangeMe, suppliers understand the prerequisites, and it cuts down on the back and forth so we can address their insurance needs and satisfy their requirements very quickly,” said Larry Allred of Veracity Insurance Solutions. “You have suppliers at the crossroads of wanting to get into retail, and offering a resource center to these suppliers with a checklist of what they need. And that is just phenomenal. When I get a phone call from a supplier looking to get into Whole Foods or CVS, they all have a common interest to get insurance based on the requirements of retailers.”
Suppliers can learn about providers, watch videos, find other suppliers’ endorsements and request quotes from the RangeMe platform.
“Offering suppliers the opportunity to get retail-ready in a single, seamless environment is good for them, good for retailers and good for the CPG industry as a whole,” Jackson said. “We’re widening the playing field of new products at a time when consumer demand is at an all-time high, and retailers can’t source innovative new products fast enough. RangeMe Services adds that needed jolt of speed to the sourcing process, and the results are being displayed front and center on store shelves across the nation.”


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Specifications of Motorola One Vision, the company’s upcoming Android One smartphone surfaced recently, now a new render of the phone has surfaced showing off its in-screen camera, dual rear cameras and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. It is expected to be introduced in China as P40.
Earlier rumors revealed Exynos 9610 10nm SoC, similar to the Galaxy A50, Full HD+ screen, 48-megapixel primary rear camera, capable of taking 12-megapixel images and with Long Exposure option for better low-light images, 3GB or 4GB RAM with 32, 64, or 128GB of storage and a 3500mAh battery. It will run Android Pie. Other details such as secondary camera and front camera details, screen size or exact resolution are not available yet.
The Motorola One Vision is expected to go official sometime in Q2 2019, which is between April and June.


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Friday is time for the High & the Low, a Curbed column chronicling the most and least expensive homes sold in San Francisco in the last seven days. Here’s this week’s pageant of extremes.
The former firehouse turned rather grand contemporary home at 3816 22nd Street in Noe Valley has a surprisingly tough time on the housing market.
First it sat unsold for three years starting in 2008, and then its 2015 listed flamed out in favor of becoming an Airbnb mecca instead.
Way back in 1959 the onetime Engine Number 44 received only a single bid of $7,500 (about $63,000) today. The winners, a pair of artists, used it as a studio.
The place didn’t become a proper house until its major renovation in 2008. Though a host of local designers did a gorgeous job on the interiors, June 2008 was not an auspicious time to be trying to sell a $6 million-plus house in San Francisco.
And in fact, 3816 22nd Street has never managed to sell for that sum despite several tries. It did, however, net a sale of more than $5.32 million this week.
That’s a high for the week among publicly listed homes in the city, but it’s still down from the $5.75 million asking price in March, and also down from its previous $5.5 million sale in 2013. Woof.
And yet, it’s hard to blame the home itself for any of its woes finding buyers. That 1909 Mission revival facade looks as good as ever, and who doesn’t love the soaring verticality of the four-story space, complete with spiral stairs in place of the old fire pole?
(Although a case could obviously be made for the merits of keeping the pole in the first place.)
And speaking of old things made anew, the city’s least expensive home sold this week once again put in port at the Shipyard in Hunters Point at 50 Jerrold Avenue. Though the neighborhood has a storied and colorful history, as new construction the home itself, a one bed, one bath, 655 foot condo, isn’t towing any freight from its past.
The final sale price of $589,000 was precisely the list price from back in March. Quite a haul by any objective standard, but still a bargain by the bearings of San Francisco in 2017.


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August 13, 2021 @ 11:50 +03:00
Bitcoin has clawed back lost ground from Thursday’s 2.4% sell that saw the crypto reach lows of around $43,800. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value was up 1.5% over a 24-hour period by press time and is currently changing hands for around $46,100. Bitcoin is beginning to edge closer toward analyst’s projected $50,000 price tag, as CoinDesk reported Thursday.
“We were seeing many investors taking advantage of recent market movements by taking profits,” said Asher Tan, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange CoinJar. “There’s a trend of conservatism among users who jumped into crypto around similar price levels earlier in the year, with users slightly trimming their holdings.” Indeed, bitcoin‘s total daily volume across major exchanges, including Bitstamp, remains flat when compared to previous months, particularly towards the end of May.
The co-founder points toward new investors remaining cautious ever since they had a taste of the crypto market’s volatility when the sell-off in May saw bitcoin prices drop 50% from $56,700 to around $30,000 in a little over a week.
Yet seasoned investors, Grainger argues, are increasingly active with data hinting at a strong uptake in altcoins, beginning Aug. 9. “In particular, ether has picked up significantly against bitcoin and that is starting to trend again as of today,” she said.
Bitcoin Back Above $46K on Low Daily Volume as Altcoins Outperform, CoinDesk, Aug 13


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Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management. Can you make a lot of money investing in stocks tablet user logs in to his Facebook page. First Day Of Trading for 2015 On The Floor Of The NYSE As U. A real estate sign outside a townhouse for sale in Washington, D.
A customer exits a Dunkin’ Donuts store in midtown Manhattan in New York City. Merchandise baskets are lined up outside a Target department store in Palm Coast, Florida, December 9, 2013. 20, 2010 file photo shows signage at a Starbucks store in New York’s Times Square. Selective focus and Canon EOS 5D Mark II with MP-E 65mm macro lens. Mark Zuckerberg is expected to appear before multiple congressional committees.
Now everyone’s doing the notch thing. If Echoes were ice cream, this would be vanilla. Tesla facing potential bankruptcy in 3-6 months? This Friday, March 21, 2014 file photo shows a home for sale in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Kraft macaroni and cheese products are seen on the shelf at a grocery store in Washington. Shopping carts are collected outside a Costco store in Alhambra, California on June 2, 2013.


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The work-for-hire sector, particularly in the UK, has gone under a few changes in recent years as studios have had to adapt to client demands.
Though Disney has contracted the likes of Studio Gobo and Ninja Theory to work on Disney Infinity, other businesses such as Capcom have begun moving work in-house.
And the work-for-hire industry has always been a challenging one, where a contract cancellation at the last minute could mean the death of company or result in significant job losses.
Leamington Spa outfit Blitz, whose last projects included Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, closed in September last year. Co-founder Philip Oliver said at the time many major clients have felt unable to invest in significant projects, while other clients had changed strategies.
Another studio, Eurocom, known for its James Bond titles, closed as Activision began withdrawing from the licenced games business and the studio suffered from contract delays. The closure affected some 200 staff.
Firebrand CEO Mark Greenshields says that during the last few years, as the above closures show, the market for work-for-hire has shrunk considerably, though things are looking up for the sector.
“Since 2011, however, the market has seen the largest change pretty much since it started,” he says. “The WFH marker basically vanished close to overnight for all but utter bottom dollar work. It is recovering slowly but much, much smaller than before and with a considerable amount of low-cost teams overseas bidding.
“F2P has left publishers with no idea what budget to spend so they squeeze more than before. As most budgets were created by finance based on projections from sales and marketing, and it is hard to budget when you basically have no idea what you will make.”
The traditional publisher and financier is increasingly being removed from the process.
Paul Smith, Strawdog Studios
Paul Smith, MD of Peppa Pig games developer Strawdog Studios, says the fundamental principle behind work-for-hire hasn’t changed. Clients are still seeking the best service provider to deliver the best possible product on budget and on time.
He admits, however, that the digital space has sparked some changes in the sector.
“The nature of digital product and its relative ease of development and distribution, especially in the mobile space, mean clients can have a more cautious strategy by commissioning minimum viable products which do add an element of uncertainty to the development process,” says Smith.
“We mitigate this risk by taking a more agile approach to development which means we’re now more geared to react to rapid change with a small core team which is bolstered by a group of trusted contractors. We’ve worked on several products which have been big and not made it to market, it means as a developer you must remain flexible and be prepare for changes.”
One of the ways Strawdog has remained flexible is by finding work from non-traditional routes, such as marketing and advertising agencies. One of its projects for iOS and Android, Play2Fame, is being directly financed by a professional footballer.
“The traditional publisher/financier is increasingly being removed from the process and we’re now liaising directly with IP owners,” explains Smith.
Building big business
It may sound like the work-for-hire business is struggling, but many companies are still finding avenues both old and new into the market, and much of it is down to building up a strong reputation over time.
Take Sumo Digital, for instance; known for its work on Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, the team recently announced it was developing the Xbox 360 version of Forza Horizon 2 and has also taken the reigns on PS4 title LittleBigPlanet 3, one of Sony’s key franchises. Climax, meanwhile, is working on numerous projects, including a VR title in collaboration with Oculus for the Samsung Gear VR.
Sumo CEO Carl Cavers says a focus on creativity has been central to building its business, which has seen the company expand to over 200 staff since it was founded 11 years ago.
“A key pillar of the company is security, making sure we look after the best interests of everyone involved; providing a quality, collaborative service and product for our clients, as well the security for the staff so they can pay their mortgages at the end of the month,” he says. “That, and free pop.”
Lorna Probert, head of digital production at one of the UK’s most famous work-for-hire companies, Aardman Animations, says that to build a successful business, it is important to recognise your unique selling points and focus on those, or face a failing business further down the line.
“Obviously you have to take risks if you’re going to grow but you should do this carefully,” states Probert.
“Think about whether you will have enough work to keep new staff busy six months down the line. Choose the technologies you train people up in according to which will best service those USPs. Recognise that new business is a long hard and unpredictable slog. New relationships take time to turn into new jobs so you have to plan ahead. However busy you are you always have to be thinking of where the next job might come from and trying to juggle the pitches alongside the production.
“Your reputation is what keeps the work coming in so value it. This means looking after your clients, delivering on your promises – that means not making unrealistic promises in the first place – and creating high quality content that you can be proud of.”
Climax CEO Simon Gardner says its strategy has always been to have one large project and two smaller ones in development, with a fourth team finishing or starting the next project. He explains that this approach ensures a cancellation or failure to pass a green light won’t kill the studio.
“That in itself can be a major USP for your company and make you more attractive to a potential client. We’ve seen a lot of studios rise up and launch one title only to go bust when they finish it,” he says.
“Their whole focus is on that one project and they don’t find the time or resources to properly line up the follow-on work. Getting contracts, and funding these days, is a full-time job that involves massive time, effort and resources.”
Predicting the future
The work-for-hire space is riddled with challenges, though persistent companies who carefully monitor their business can be hugely successful, as long as they keep aware of the challenges.
However busy you are, you always have to think of where the next job might come from.
Lorna Probert, Aardman
Probert says it’s important for studios to keep an eye on the latest trends to ensure they have applicable skills for projects. She says that, in many cases, work-for-hire firms often have to predict where the future of the industry may lie so as not to get caught out.
“This means constantly learning and trying new things which can be costly and ultimately leads to a greater degree of risk on your projects,” she says.
Sumo studio director Paul Porter believes there is a constant balance to try and position a studio where you can pick and choose the opportunities that best match the skills and experience your company has available.
“Once you are working on a game, ensuring that you create a quality and competitive experience within the constraints that work-for-hire development puts upon you is not always easy,” he says. “Given the games that we have been working on recently and are continuing with, we must be doing something right.”
Gardner, meanwhile, explains that it’s important to have a good technical spread to tackle whatever opportunities arise. The Portsmouth-based company, for example, has staff that can work with engines such as Unity and Unreal Engine 4, as well as with in-house engines at companies such as Sony London Studios’ Wonderbook tech, Codemasters’ Ego Engine and MercurySteam’s Castlevania engine.
“This comes from years of experience, but has allowed us to work on many titles that might have been difficult for other studios,” he says.
Jamie Campbell, co-founder at IT company d3t, which has worked on titles including Killzone: Shadow Fall and Chimpact, says the main challenge for their business is the work itself, but experience in the field can help.
“Although we don’t develop our own IP at d3t, our experience in production and our relationships with on and offshore art outsourcing companies means we’re an ideal partner for IP reboots and full game development,” he says. “We have experience with games such as Sony Computer Entertainment’s Lemmings Touch for PS Vita, and Sega’s Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team on Steam for our friends at Nomad Games.”
Another potentially significant challenge facing developers is the number of studios looking for quality work-for-hire projects. Mike Burnham, head of Marmalade Game Studio – which has worked for the likes of Activision, Hasbro and Square Enix on Call of Duty and Lara Croft games – says rivals can come from dedicated teams in the sector to other independent studios looking for extra revenue streams to pay their bills and work on original IP.
“Mix in with this a strong supply of increasingly well-educated developers entering the fray with great tools at their fingertips and the market place is certainly challenging at the moment,” he says.
“Marmalade Game Studio stands tall in this area for all the right reasons; great talent, top class tools, and a strong heritage.”
As mentioned earlier, while some companies are outsourcing, it could be argued some publishers are moving development in-house, such as Capcom.
Our work-for-hire experts are divided on whether this has been a true issue, given Sumo’s work on some hit titles, for example. But Gardner says he feels, at least in the console space, that this has occurred due to the latest hardware transition, in which publishers traditionally tend to build up their internal teams.
Ensuring that you create a quality experience within work-for-hire constraints is not always easy.
Paul Porter, Sumo Digital
He explains that access to confidential development kits and not wanting to give independent developers a leg up in the field for them to go and work for a competitor could be the cause of a reticence to use
work-for-hire in the early days of the PS4 and Xbox One.
“The change this time around though does seem to be that the budgets have continued to climb, though not necessarily above the end of the last-gen games, but it is still a massive amount of money for triple-A development,” says Gardner.
“In general there seem to be fewer games in development and a focus on core IP. There are opportunities that arise from this though. There is also the continued and continually growing importance of the mobile sector for larger work-for-hire studios.
“It will be interesting to see if the cycle follows the historical pattern, when some of the internal teams fail to deliver and projects run late. The publishers feel helpless, as they have relatively few tools to manage delivery and hate the bad PR of redundancies. At that point, working with a third-party and paying milestones starts looking very attractive. There are differences this time around though. The console publishers that are left standing seem to be better at managing their teams and having fewer of them mainly focused on successful IP.”
Campbell adds that while it may be true that some companies are beginning to move development in-house, he has found demand for d3t’s work-for-hire services growing in recent times, and goes back to that all important reputation building that is so vital in the sector.
“We have a reputation for excellence and for delivering on promises, not only throughout the UK but also in Europe and Australasia,” he says. “Our export strength comes from our adaptability and our ability to work with different organisational and national cultures, and is an indicator of our client-focused approach.”
One of the key questions in work-for-hire is whether or not these companies can also develop their own IP. Blitz attempted combining these two business towards the end of its life, but the releases of the likes of Kumo Lumo and Paper Titans were ultimately unable to save the business.
Another example is Remode, whose founders Ella Romanos and Martin Darby previously told Develop that trying to balance their own IP with work-for-hire was a difficult proposition, leading them to eventually shut down the studio and later open Strike Gamelabs, focusing on original IP.
Strawdog’s Smith says, however, he believes it is possible, and even ideal if a studio can make it work, but believes it can be difficult to get the funds to focus on original projects.
“As a studio we haven’t yet reached the tipping point where the passive revenues from our own IP or royalty-baring contracts creates enough capital to allow us to fully focus on our own internal game projects,” says Smith.
“We find that it’s good business practice to have a blend of projects, both internal and client-based. However it’s important that work-for-hire clients are reassured that their products won’t play second fiddle to our own internal IP. We take great pride in building strong working relationships with our work-for-hire clients and it’s extremely important to have empathy for their point of view, which doesn’t mean we take a passive role during design and development but does mean we respect their final decisions.”
Despite the difficulties many are facing in the work-for-hire space, it seems a focus on the core principles and talent of the studio, as well as creativity, can help studios become a success in this highly competitive field.
And studios that can achieve this could eventually find opportunities to work on titles like LittleBigPlanet and Killzone, just like the companies mentioned here.


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FULL YEAR figures for poultrymeat trade in the European Union have revealed a 2.4% increase in imports in 2019.
The bloc, including the UK, imported 832,838t of chicken in 2019, compared with 813,372 the year before.
Of the two largest exporters to Europe, Brazil grew sales by 3.8% in 2019 to 313,694t while poultrymeat imports from Thailand remained largely flat, at 308,817t.
Ukraine recorded a 23% increase in total tonnage sold into Europe, up to 134,262t in 2019.
The figures show that exports from Europe to South Africa have recovered, up 55% in 2019 when compared with the year before.
Strong sales growth was recorded for the Phillippines (up 35.5%) and Ghana (up 13.9%).
Europe exported 1.9m tonnes of chicken last year in total, up 7.6% on the year before.


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AOL's top advertising executive will be leaving the company, the chief executive confirmed to employees on Monday. The president of the company's global marketing and strategy, Jeff Levick, will be leaving the company after a six-week transition period, as a memo attained by Reuters has said. The present leader of the company's advertising network, Ned Brody, has since been promoted to chief revenue officer.
Tom Armstrong, AOL's chief executive, had this to say in the memo, procured by Reuters:
"We won't be hitting the pause button this week, we'll be on fast-forward."
At one point in history, AOL was the most visited destination on the Internet. However, its position is rapidly being taken over by Google and Facebook as well as Google-owned services, such as YouTube. AOL's advertising revenue for the fourth quarter dropped almost 30%, with Armstrong having ditched unprofitable inventory and revamped the sales team. AOL shares were trading at around $19.25 during Monday's afternoon stock trade.
Two other employees with the company, who had been hired only in October 2010, will also be leaving. Lauren Hurvitz, head of corporate communications, and Kathy Andreasen, the head of human resources will also be leaving the company. During the first quarter, AOL's presence online rose for the first time in three years. In spite of this, the company's advertising revenue still slipped.


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In the midst of a “double strike” caused largely by the lack of residuals for writers and performers on streaming shows, Netflix has axed its cheapest ad-free plan. The “Basic” plan, which cost $9.99/month, is gone; the least expensive ad-free option is now “Standard” for $15.49. However, this only applies to “new or rejoining members.” According to the fine print, “If you are currently on the Basic plan, you can remain on this plan until you change plans or cancel your account.”
The other plans — $6.99/month standard with ads and $19.99/month for premium without ads — remain the same.
The Verge reports, “The writing was on the wall for Netflix’s basic plan when it silently removed it in Canada. In the US and UK, Netflix also started hiding the basic plan when new users signed up to the platform, requiring them to click a “see all plans” button for it to appear as an option alongside its other plans. The basic plan also didn’t let you add an extra member to your account as part of its paid sharing policy.”
The news of the price hike comes on the same day of Netflix’s earnings report, which comes this afternoon. The streamer’s stock is up to a 17-month high, due mainly to “the financial impact of Netflix’s initiative to curb rampant sharing of account information,” according to Forbes. “Netflix will reap about $9 billion in new revenue by 2025 thanks to the password program.” Hopefully a good chunk of that money goes to the people who make the content.
(Via the Verge)


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It looked like Sony was teasing something for the Ape Escape series’ 20th anniversary, and they followed up with a commemorative 20th anniversary trailer as well as a PS4 theme for PS Plus subscribers in Japan.
In the special Ape Escape 20th anniversary video, we get to see a look back at all the releases since the very first game which released in 1999 for the PlayStation up to the last title in Ape Escape Move for PS3 in 2010.
Doko Demo Issyo also celebrates its 20th anniversary and it joins the mix with Ape Escape as part of a special PS4 theme available free exclusively for PS Plus subscribers in Japan. It’ll be available until August 6, 2019.
Lastly, Sony launched an official Ape Escape 20th Anniversary Twitter account that will have some comments and talk from the original developers, info on events, goods, and more.
Ape Escape first released in North America for PlayStation in May 31, 1999. It released a little later in Japan on June 24, 1999 then in Europe on July 2, 1999.


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Baybrook Mall will be open for Fourth of July
The Baybrook Mall in Friendswood will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 4.
Shoppers are advised that some stores, restaurants and entertainment venues may observe different hours. Individuals may call the businesses for exact opening and closing times.
Baybrook Mall is located in Friendswood at I-45 South and Bay Area Boulevard.
For more information, call 281-488-4620 or visit www.baybrookmall.com.
Local Advertising by PaperG


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A Charles Sturt University (CSU) expert in Australia's meat livestock industry believes prospects for global meat production are positive, but national government policies, future profitability and climate change pose challenges.
CSU academic and Graham Centre economic researcher Dr Karl Behrendt recently lead the Australian delegation to the agri benchmark Beef and Sheep Conference 2014 in Turin, Italy, to address these issues.
Dr Behrendt highlighted the growing demand for meat from Asia, mainly China, and Brazil as major drivers for global demand, trade and prices in red meat.
"Global lamb and beef prices increased in 2013 compared to 2010, however high retail prices and recent economic crises have reduced human consumption per capita in many developed economies and their markets," Dr Behrendt said.
"On the flip side, there have been dramatic increases in the demand for red meats, particularly for sheep meat and beef, in growing economies like China and Indonesia, with little resistance to increasing prices in China at the moment. This will have massive implications for global meat protein trade.
"In addition, agricultural reforms in Europe will have dramatic effects on European producer viability and we are likely to see significant changes to their overall production and industry structures in the future."
Closer to home, Dr Behrendt was concerned at how the Australian beef industry struggled in 2013, "which was mainly due to drought in northern Australia, lower cattle prices and higher production costs, especially for feed and agistment".
"In our analyses of 'typical' beef enterprises in Australia, only a feedlot showed long-term and short-term profits," he said.
"We also saw the importance of mixed farms as it was apparent that profits from cropping enterprises were propping up farms that had beef cattle on the farm."
This was despite results from the agri benchmark 2013 project showing Australia was a relatively low cost beef producer, along with South America and New Zealand.
On an more upbeat note, 'typical' enterprises producing sheep meat in Australia made short- to medium-term profits, and some even long-term profits. Australia again indicated it was a low cost producer of lamb, along with New Zealand and South Africa.
"Most of the world's livestock are grazed on grasslands, which can be managed sustainably by adjusting stock rates and management, introducing fertilisers, improved supplementary feeding practices and new plant species where economic to do so. Our research has shown that where grasslands are managed sustainably, there is great potential for grazing livestock to increase productivity and profitability," Dr Behrendt said.
"This includes grazing under trees in tropical countries, which show benefits for the environment and animal welfare as well as profits." This will be investigated further by the agri benchmark network.
The Australian part of the agri benchmark network is coordinated by Dr Behrendt and funded by Meat and Livestock Australia.
Explore the world of social


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Twitter finally allows you to get banned for this story.
On Thursday, the company announced that it is testing a new way for users to remove themselves from conversations they don’t want to participate in. The company calls it “not to mention,” and while it’s a test for now, it’s one of many Twitter users who are tired of years of harassment and want to test it.
Anyone with a test feature can select the three-dot menu next to “Reply” to get a quick “get you out of this conversation” suggestion (released at last!) The popup tells you what to do if you leave the conversation . you will be tagged in replies, however your username will still be displayed.
The company declined to say how many users will see the testing feature, calling the test global but “small”. It’s only limited to the internet at the moment, so not everyone taking the test will call themselves mobile right now.
When a user is talking to themselves, their Twitter handle turns gray, indicating to other users that they have left the conversation and cannot be tagged in the thread again. Not to mention, this will also turn off notifications, forcing you to ignore the disgusting or otherwise objectionable things people send you.
In September, Twitter began testing an anti-abuse feature called Safe Mode, a setting that annoys users and can help us filter out abuse in general. While in safe mode, Twitter analyzes interactions and algorithmically bans accounts that abuse your way, spending hours looking at hateful replies to victims and manually banning accounts. The platform expanded testing in February and continues to gather feedback on a system designed to filter out widespread online abuse.
After a long period of inactivity, the social network recently developed anti-abuse features and offered users new tools, such as the ability to specify who can reply to tweets (all Twitter users, users they follow, or only the accounts they link to) . ). And even with the exception of anti-harassment tools, Twitter has more flexibility and user experience in general – even the ability to delete old tweets from websites that don’t, but have been visible.


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A United Nations study illustrates how the private and public sector can work together to modernise economies, improve transparency and support financial inclusion and growth.
The study titled conducted by Better than Cash Alliance provides findings about potential gains for governments, businesses and citizens when digitizing payments.
It underscores that digitizing Value Added Tax payments and supporting formalisation of businesses could increase tax revenue in the country by at least US$477 million per year.
The study also said that many emerging economies are grappling with how to modernise their economies, improve transparency, drive sustainable growth and advance financial inclusion.
The Study pointed out that digital payments increased transparency between citizens and governments, by digitizing tax payments which has provided electronic proof of payments and protects people against fraud.
“This study on Tanzania’s digital payment initiatives reveals the very strong results achieved by the government so far. By digitizing the payments which businesses and people make to the government, it will curb theft and fraud,” the report stressed.
Tanzania has already modernized its tourism sector by reducing economic leakage from cash payments by digitizing things like conservation park entry fees by over 40 percent which supports investment creates jobs.
The study added: “Digital payments cut bureaucratic inefficiencies in Tanzania, including reducing import customs clearance time from nine days to less than one day.”
Dr Ruth Goodwin-Groen, Managing Director of the Better than Cash Alliance comment which worked with the UN to come up with the report said Tanzania’s results in driving the shift from cash to digital payments are very impressive.
“The country has developed significant experience that has led to gains in revenue at double digit rates while also delivering social benefits for its citizens.”
She noted that Tanzania is building a firm foundation for strong and inclusive growth which looks forward to further progress.
The study also provides important insights on how further expanding digitization of payments in Tanzania can fast-track the country’s economic modernization.
Furthermore, these digitization efforts contribute to benefits beyond just the economy.
Sheru Hadha, a Tanzanian customer noted how digital financial inclusion has empowered her in her daily life. “Digital payments help women be more independent. Before, when we just had cash, it was very tough,” Hadha said.
“To transfer money, I had to go to the bank, and they would ask me for a lot of information and require documentation. I had to line up for a long time, more than three hours. It was a big hassle,” she noted.
Other countries in the region have initiatives to digitize payments and, while many are in the early stages of their transition, the benefits are quickly being realised and becoming evident.
Kenya is targeting to double tax collections over the next three years through its tax filing electronic system, the iTax.
In Uganda, the Kampala Capital City Authority’s automated tax collection system boosted revenue by 167 percent in a single year.
Rwanda drove nearly 80 percent adoption of electronic VAT payments made by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.


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New guide draws on the expertise of recognised corporate sustainability leaders such as Ikea and Unilever to set out 10 principles for effectively embedding environmental action within an organisation
How can businesses ensure they integrate and deliver sustainable practices throughout their operations? In a contemporary corporate landscape characterised by escalating climate risks, emerging clean technologies,...
Plus Danish diets, China climate policy signals, and all the top green business news from around the world this week
Major report makes the case for new carbon tax on imported goods and goods, as the Environment Secretary reveals the UK's climate targets could eventually cover carbon embodied in imported goods
As the sustainable finance sector booms, asset managers and owners are under increasing pressure to use their financial clout to steer a greener future
More than 100 billion garments are produced annually, and many end up in the landfill


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Canonical: Ubuntu tablets due early 2011
Jun 14, 2010, 15:07 (1 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Rik Myslewski)
Re-Imagining Linux Platforms to Meet the Needs of Cloud Service Providers
"Kenyon's comments jibe with what he told The Reg last month:
that Canonical was prepping Unbuntu for in-car systems, tablets,
set-top-boxes, and what Kenyon called 'the digital home or
something you carry around'.
"But you can wipe smartphones off that list: 'We're not thinking
about the phone base,' Kenyon told us."


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Gartner Predicts More Cloud and Loss of IT Control in 2012Added 3rd Dec 2011
IT budgets and responsibilities are moving out of the control of IT departments and into the hands of others, thanks to trends such as consumerization and cloud computing, Gartner says in its vision for 2012 and the coming years.
That means, to be successful, IT organizations will have to excel at relationship management and be adept at coordinating more widely distributed activities, according to Daryl Plummer, managing vice president and Gartner fellow.
"As users take more control of the devices they will use, business managers are taking more control of the budgets IT organizations have watched shift over the last few years," Plummer said in a statement. "The IT organization of the future must coordinate those who have the money, those who deliver the services, those who secure the data, and those consumers who demand to set their own pace for use of IT."
IT departments need to adapt now or be swept aside, Plummer warned.
With that in mind, here are Gartner's top 11 predictions for 2012:
1. Low-cost cloud services will cannibalize up to 15 percent of top outsourcing players' revenue by 2015.
Just as low-cost airlines disrupted the transportation industry, the projected $1 trillion IT services market is facing further disruption from industrialized low-cost IT services (ILCS), which Gartner describes as "an emerging market force that will alter the common perceptions of pricing and value of IT services." Vendors will need to invest in and adopt a new cloud-based, industrialized services strategy, the research firm says.
2. The investment bubble will burst for consumer social networks in 2013, and for enterprise social software companies in 2014.
In the consumer social network space, there's a large crop of vendors with overlapping features competing for a finite audience. In the enterprise market, small vendors are struggling to grow, consolidation is imminent, and big players such as Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Google and VMware are muscling in on the action, Gartner says. "While substantial excitement will be raised by private firms going public, valuations of smaller independent vendors will diminish as recognition sets in that the opportunities for market differentiation and fast growth has eroded."
3. At least 50 percent of enterprise email users will rely primarily on a browser, tablet or mobile client instead of a desktop client by 2016.
As the options for email clients continue to grow, the need for mobile device management platforms will soar and suppliers will be pressured to support more collaboration services, including instant messaging, Web conferencing, social networking and shared workspaces, Gartner predicts.
4. Mobile application development projects targeting smartphones and tablets will outnumber native PC projects by a ratio of 4-to-1 by 2015.
"Smartphones and tablets represent more than 90 percent of the new net growth in device adoption for the coming four years, and increasing application platform capability across all classes of mobile phones is spurring a new frontier of innovation, particularly where mobile capabilities can be integrated with location, presence and social information to enhance the usefulness," Gartner says.
5. 40 percent of enterprises will make proof of independent security testing a precondition for using any type of cloud service by 2016.
Third-party testers won't be the only way for enterprises to evaluate cloud services for their security capabilities. Inspectors' certifications will become a viable alternative or complement to third-party testing, Gartner says. "This means that instead of requesting that a third-party security vendor conduct testing on the enterprise's behalf, the enterprise will be satisfied by a cloud provider's certificate stating that a reputable third-party security vendor has already tested its applications."
6. More than 50 percent of Global 1000 companies will have stored customer-sensitive data in the public cloud by year-end 2016.
Under pressure to reduce costs and operate more efficiently, more than 20% of organizations are already selectively storing customer-sensitive data in a hybrid cloud environment, Gartner says.
7. 35 percent of enterprise IT expenditures for most organizations will be managed outside the IT department's budget by 2015.
Business managers and individual employees are demanding more control over the IT expenditures related to their jobs. "CIOs will see some of their current budget simply reallocated to other areas of the business. In other cases, IT projects will be redefined as business projects with line-of-business managers in control," Gartner predicts.
8. 20 percent of Asia-sourced finished goods and assemblies consumed in the U.S. will shift to the Americas by 2015.
Many companies that serve the U.S. market will shift their sources of supply from Asia to the Americas, including Latin America, Canada and the U.S., thanks to political, environmental, economic and supply chain risks, Gartner says. "Except in cases where there is a unique manufacturing process or product intellectual property, most products are candidates to be relocated."
9. The financial impact of cybercrime will grow 10 percent per year through 2016, due to the continuing discovery of new vulnerabilities.
Growth in consumerization and cloud computing will lead to the introduction of new software vulnerabilities and attack methods by financially motivated hackers, Gartner warns. "The combination of new vulnerabilities and more targeted attacks will lead to continued growth in bottom-line financial impact because of successful cyber attacks."
10. The prices for 80 percent of cloud services will include a global energy surcharge by 2015.
Some cloud data center operators already include an energy surcharge in their pricing package, and Gartner expects to see more providers follow suit. Business and IT leaders should be prepared to see it included in future cloud service contracts.
11. More than 85 percent of Fortune 500 organizations will fail to effectively exploit big data for competitive advantage through 2015.
Most organizations are in no shape to handle the technical and management challenges posed by big data, Gartner says. "Collecting and analyzing the data is not enough -- it must be presented in a timely fashion so that decisions are made as a direct consequence that have a material impact on the productivity, profitability or efficiency of the organization." As a result, most won't be able to exploit available data for competitive advantage.
For more details, check out Gartner's report, "Gartner's Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users, 2012 and Beyond: Control Slips Away."
Researchers at USENIX Security '14 are sharing the latest findings in security and privacy, and here are 5 that are particularly interesting.
Not enough manpower and too much data growth.
IBM has signed a five-year multi-million dollar agreement credit information provider, Veda, in A/NZ.
Telstra's Cloud Collaboration service is scheduled to go live globally at the end of the August, with four nodes to provide access to 25 countries across the telecommunications provider's network of more than 2500 points of presence (PoPs).
Start small, work faster
Former Lotus, Caterham and McLaren CIO joins Silverstone-based F1 team
The Asia-Pacific enterprise mobility market will become increasingly fragmented over the next few years as countries across the region utilize mobility in varying ways, IDC predicts.
The move should help cement the regime and strategy of his successor Satya Nadella, according to several industry observers.
'I have become very busy' since leaving Microsoft, Ballmer says in a letter to CEO Satya Nadella.
Jetpac's technology can be used to find anything on images, but Google is mum on its plans.
Rivals dish up some fear, uncertainty, doubt, or FUD, in an effort to poach IBM System x users.
Google Cloud users can now run Docker jobs alongside their Hadoop workloads in the same cluster.
The California Court of Appeal ruled that companies must reimburse employees for work-related use from personal mobile devices.
The company also increased the maximum amount of SharePoint site collections in Office 365 to 500,000 from 10,000.
Database 10gR2 is now supported on Oracle's flagship 'engineered system,' although caveats apply.
Community Health Systems says the breach occurred in April and June but it wasn't until July that it determined the theft had taken place.
To succeed in today's business environment, the complexity around products and services needs to be taken out.
Among those affected are Cloud Services, Virtual Machines and Websites.
There is a high possibility of a shuffle in the ranking within the top five smartphone vendors in the coming quarters, says IDC.
Industry observers suggest Infosys' first outsider CEO make some bold changes to reposition the company in the IT services market.


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Persona developer, Atlus, took the stage at the tail-end of The Game Awards’ pre-show to announce the re-release of its PS3 fighting game, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. The trailer featured the ever-lovable Teddie and a slew of bear-related puns (and one Steam-related one) as he explains the good news. The news that the fighting game associated to the popular franchise is making a return after years of radio silence.
Teddie’s reveal was also plastered over gameplay of the upcoming re-release.
This is the first time the Arena franchise got any sort of official mention since its last outing in 2013 (or 2014 for the US). For the understandably uninitiated, in 2012, Atlus released a fighting game alongside Arc System Works tied to the Persona universe. Not long after, in 2013, a sequel was developed, but after that, nothing new was released in the fighting game field for the franchise.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax hits the PS4 on March 17.


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Target said in an e-mailed statement that it’s selling the cards in a test at 100 stores in four cities: Chicago, Denver, Miami and Washington, D.C. The company said there is no projected end date.
The move shows how Target is joining a number of retailers, including Target and Kroger, to offer financial services in a retail environment. As free checking disappears and more consumers look for alternatives to banks, retailers may become the new financial services industry.


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888 and Gala Bingo have both had ad campaigns banned by UK advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for being “misleading”.
In 888’s case, the ASA concluded that a direct mailing offering a “NO deposit bonus” of £10 was misleading as it had not made it clear that a minimum withdrawal amount of £30 applied. The complaint was lodged by a player that gambled the £10 and won £10.70 but was unable to withdraw their winnings.
While 888 said it was clearly stated in the mail out that promotions were subject to its end user licence agreement and bonus policy, that players had to consent to when they opened an online account, the ASA noted that: “We considered the minimum £30 withdrawal policy was a significant condition likely to influence players’ initial decision to take advantage of the offer in the first place and should have been stated in the ad. Because it was not, we concluded that the ad was misleading.” The ASA ruled the ad must not appear in its current form again and instructed 888.com to ensure “significant conditions” were included in the ads themselves in future.
Gala Bingo also had an ad campaign banned by the ASA for being misleading, after the regulator today upheld a complaint from a player that while this claimed to offer a 100% bonus on a £10 deposit to play the Alice’s Wonderland slot, it was actually necessary to stake £50 on the game to release the “100% bonus of up to £10.”
Gala argued the promo had been sent to a list of registered players, most of whom were now familiar with this kind of condition, and that it was clear from its wording that they had to “play” through their deposit in order a certain number of times – this case five – to “release” the bonus. Gala also pointed out that the email contained a number of prominent links, including the “PLAY NOW” button, which took players directly to a page with full T&Cs for the offer. The bingo operator argued it was unlikely that any of their players would take part without clicking these links. Gala said it had not received any other complaints from among the 809 players that took up the offer.
But while the ASA accepted Gala’s arguments, it understood that players who received the email would be able to participate in the promotion by depositing money directly into their Gala Bingo accounts, without ever being directed to the terms and conditions page. “We considered that the wagering requirement for this promotion amounted to a significant condition likely to influence customers’ understanding of the offer and as such should have been stated in the ad itself. Because it was not, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”


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Enabling effective cross-platform data recovery
By Dave Russell, Vice President of Enterprise Strategy, Veeam
Thursday, 26 October, 2023
The ability to collect, analyse and act on data is now a key way that businesses are looking to stay relevant and ahead of the competition. According to Qlik’s ANZ State of Data Analytics (SoDA) report, two-thirds (65%) of business leaders expressed interest in expanding their data and analytics team — proof that investment in this industry is gaining traction.
As data grows, however, businesses are also faced with a challenge to not only collect it but also to access it quickly and efficiently. Accessing data in real time can provide valuable insights and observations which can then be leveraged to make knowledgeable business decisions. Financial institutions, for example, can rely on real-time insights into consumer behaviour and monitor transactions to block or flag suspicious banking activities that could indicate fraud or money laundering.
What is data portability and why does it matter?
Data portability is the ability to move and retrieve data from multiple origins. Retrieving data allows organisations to be more agile, responsive and efficient in their operations, thus giving them an edge against their competitors. Businesses who are unable to access their own data quickly can often find themselves falling behind. This makes data portability a key requirement for businesses to advance in today’s data-driven world.
Data portability allows businesses to efficiently import and export data and easily convert it between different formats and standards as and when required. Data portability also allows businesses to take advantage of new technologies and platforms as they emerge, without having to worry about losing their data.
Most businesses are still using traditional systems that were not designed to allow fluid data movement. Additionally, the rise of cloud computing services has heightened technical concerns around data portability. For example, vendor lock-in — a practice that forces businesses to use a particular cloud service provider — has made it difficult to move data across platforms.
Best-practice tips to leverage data portability for your business
Here are two best-practice tips to ensure you have a sufficient level of data portability for your business, whilst also being realistic about how this best fits into your existing IT infrastructure:
- Put a disaster recovery/response plan in place. Implement a business continuity plan and a business impact analysis to prepare for any potential disasters, such as a cyber attack or natural disaster. No matter the disaster, it is important to prioritise data and put thought behind the best-case scenarios for recovering important data and identifying what is an acceptable loss. It also means ensuring you have a holistic view of what will need to be recovered after an incident, like systems or applications, in addition to your data.
Store, transfer and secure data using interoperable formats where possible. It is important to use open standards and formats widely supported on different platforms. Security measures, such as encryption, can help prevent data breaches and unauthorised access. Businesses should also look at securing their data whilst stored or when being transferred to maintain the integrity of the data.
With 56% of organisations that currently use or plan to use public cloud services expressing their preferences for implementing multi-cloud strategies, this increases the need for effective data portability. If businesses are able to transfer data with minimal friction, such information is less susceptible to loss and easily accessible, regardless of where the data is stored. This can be done by implementing a data recovery plan, using interoperable platforms, prioritising certain data and maintaining a high level of data security. In doing so, businesses can focus on unlocking the full potential of their data.
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In 2021, India witnessed the creation of 46 unicorns, or startups valued at $1 billion or more. Of these, 13 unicorns were founded by female entrepreneurs. Moreover, of the unicorn founders, the number of engineers is nearly four times that of non-engineer unicorn founders, according to Orios Venture Partner’s India Unicorn Report.
In 2021, Indian startups raised a total of $42 billion, up from $11.5 billion in 2020. The country has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, with over 60,000 startups. Today, 1 out of 13 unicorns across the globe was born in India.
Fintech continues to dominate with 11 unicorns, followed by ecommerce with 6. Bengaluru has the maximum number of unicorns, and has risen to become the world's seventh-largest unicorn hub. In 2021, Jaipur was the first city in the list of unicorn cities with CarDekho.
Thrassio-style venture Mensa was the quickest to turn unicorn in the Indian startup ecosystem, after raising a $50 million round in May 2021. It took only six months for Mensa to become a unicorn in November 2021. While Mensa was the fastest to become a unicorn, Five Star Finance - created in 1984 - was the slowest, taking 37 years to achieve unicorn status. It has also filed for an initial public offering (IPO), with a market capitalisation of more than $3 billion.
In addition, the year 2021 marked a watershed moment for Indian startup exits. Eleven Indian firms raised $7.16 billion in public offerings, including eight unicorns. In the year 2022, the following unicorns are likely to go public: PharmEasy, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Pinelabs, Cars24, Delhivery, Ixigo, OYO, Droom, Ola, Byju's, PharmEasy, Snapdeal, Flipkart, Pinelabs, and Cars24.
With an issue size of Rs 18,300 crore, One97 Communication (PayTM) raised India’s largest-ever IPO (Rs 2.46 billion). Furthermore, among the listed Indian firms, Zomato has the largest market capitalisation ($14.8 billion), followed by Nykaa ($13.5 billion) and Freshworks ($6.9 billion).
India has also produced four decacorns, or companies worth more than $10 billion, namely OYO Rooms, Flipkart, PayTM and Byju's, the report stated.


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A newly confirmed stock market rally quickly ran into trouble, moving to “uptrend under pressure” after Tuesday’s sell-off. Crude oil prices, Treasury yields and Bitcoin fell significantly amid a broad “risk off” trade. General Mills (GIS) broke out on earnings, while Nike (NKE), Micron Technology (MU) and RH (RH) fell on guidance. China EV startups Nio (NIO), Li Auto (LI) and Xpeng (XPEV) reported booming June sales, with Tesla (TSLA) expected over the weekend.
Stock Market Rally Under Pressure
The stock market rally came under pressure as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 tumbled below the lows of their June 24 follow-through days, with the Dow Jones later following suit. Crude oil prices fell while copper prices and Treasury yields sold off on recession fears. Nike (NKE), Micron Technology (MU) and RH (RH) fell on guidance.
Economic Data Cool
Three weeks after May’s hot CPI inflation data prompted the Federal Reserve to accelerate rate hikes, the May update of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge suggested things aren’t quite as bad as they seemed. Meanwhile, U.S. consumer spending is suddenly looking a lot softer after May’s personal income and spending report carried a strong whiff of stagflation.
The latest batch of data left the 10-year Treasury yield, which had surged to 3.48% in mid-June, back under 3%. Slower-than-expected growth and lower-than-expected inflation could yield two possible responses from the Fed. Policymakers could decide to slow down the pace of rate hikes to avoid a hard landing. But the stock market’s failure to rally on the data suggests a more likely outcome: The Fed will stay aggressive because what’s really hurting consumption is inflation.
While consumer outlays rose 0.2% in May, that translated to an inflation-adjusted drop of 0.4%. On top of that, consumption data for April and Q1 were revised lower. The first-quarter’s 3.1% rise was slashed to 1.8% in a final update of Q1 GDP, which now shows the economy contracted at a 1.6% annual rate. The contraction, though, largely reflected a surge in the trade deficit. However, tracking estimates are pointing to another negative quarter of U.S. GDP growth in Q2 as consumption softens further.
The manufacturing sector is softening in tandem. The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly survey of purchasing managers showed factory growth sliding to a two-year low. The ISM index fell to 53 from 56.1, below expectations but still above the 50 neutral level. But the new orders subindex showed outright contraction, slumping from 55.1 to 49.2.
Bitcoin Skids Amid Crypto Cracks
Bitcoin fell back below $20,000, following Wall Street and aggressive growth stocks lower. Cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital has fallen into liquidation. Crypto exchange FTX is close to agreeing to buy BlockFi for $25 million, 99% below the crypto lender’s last valuation of $4.8 billion. Equity investors would be wiped out. That comes after FTX gave a $250 million emergency line of credit to BlockFi. Meanwhile, FTX reportedly is no longer in talks to buy reeling crypto lender Celsius. The SEC rejected Grayscale’s bid to turn its Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC) into a Bitcoin spot price ETF.
Energy Prices Fall On Recession Fears
Crude oil prices retreated for the week while June prices slid 4%, the first monthly drop since November. Gasoline futures tumbled amid demand destruction and recession fears, signaling further declines at the pump. The Energy Information Administration reported two weeks of declining U.S. crude stockpiles, after delaying the prior week’s report due to system errors. But gasoline and distillate inventories both rose 2.6 million barrels in the latest week, defying views for slim declines. OPEC+ met to confirm a previously announced August oil output quota increase, though it’s unclear if many members can actually increase production.
China EV Sales Boom
China EV sales boomed in the second quarter for that country’s emerging automakers, capped with an especially strong June. Xpeng (XPEV) took the Q2 sales crown among startups, delivering 34,422 EVs in Q2, nearly double year over year. June sales were the best since December and more than doubled from the same month a year ago. But Nio (NIO) and Li Auto (LI) also posted robust June and Q2 sales gains as Covid lockdowns affecting production and supply ease. Chinese EV and battery giant BYD (BYDDF) looked set to blow past Q1’s record tally of 286,329 EV and hybrid vehicles. IBD 50 stock LI fell back below a buy point after a huge run. BYD is trading around a buy point. Nio and Xpeng fell after big rallies.
U.S. Auto Sales Tumble
U.S. sales plunged in the second quarter for General Motors (GM), after GM and several other auto giants idled factories again due to the chip shortage and other supply challenges. GM sold 582,401 vehicles in Q2, down 15% but outselling Toyota and slightly topping views. The company said it continues to ramp up new EVs, including the Cadillac Lyriq SUV and Hummer truck. But GM expects to delay deliveries of unfinished vehicles to dealers into the second half of 2022. It guided Q2 earnings lower while maintaining full-year guidance. The annualized pace of overall Q2 sales was estimated at 13.4 million light vehicles, down from 17 million a year ago.
Micron Guidance Disappoints
Memory-chip maker Micron Technology (MU) beat Wall Street’s earnings target for its fiscal third quarter ended June 2 and matched views on sales. However, it badly missed estimates with its guidance for the current quarter due to weakening PC and smartphone sales. Shares fell to a fresh 52-week low, with chip foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and several chip-equipment makers also skidding. Wall Street analysts are bracing for a wave for chipmakers cutting guidance during the second-quarter earnings season.
General Mills Jumps; Simply Red
General Mills (GIS) reported a 23% EPS gain in fiscal Q4, with revenue up 8% to $4.9 billion, both beating. GIS stock broke out to a new high. Simply Good Foods (SMPL) reported EPS unexpectedly rose 2% in its Q3, with sales up 11% to $316.5 million. But the Atkins-branded snacks maker warned high inventory levels will curb Q4 growth. SMPL stock dived.
Nike Guides Low
Nike (NKE) reported Q4 EPS fell 3% while revenue dipped 1% to $12.2 billion as China lockdowns forced store and factory closures. Both beat views, but it was the first sales decline in seven quarters. The athletic shoe and apparel giant announced soft guidance for the current quarter, citing a strong dollar and freight costs. Shares tumbled.
Vaccine stocks diverged last week after the Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to update their Covid shots to include an omicron-fighting element. The agency says the companies should begin testing now to launch in the fall. The vaccines would target the B.A.4 and B.A.5 sub-variants of omicron, as well as the original strain. So far, Pfizer (PFE), Moderna (MRNA) and Novavax (NVAX) have tested vaccines targeting the B.A.1 sub-variant, an earlier iteration of omicron.
RH (RH) trimmed full-year estimates, citing weaker demand and a deteriorating economic environment. It now sees revenue down 2%-5% vs. prior targets for flat to up 2%. Shares of the upscale furniture retailer tumbled to a fresh two-year low.
Paychex (PAYX) reported fiscal Q4 adjusted EPS rose 13%, with revenue up 11% to $1.14 billion. the payroll processing firm guided slightly higher for fiscal 2023. PAYX shares fell sharply on recession fears.
Apple‘s (AAPL) efforts to make its own 5G modem chip have hit a developmental snag. That means Qualcomm (QCOM) will retain the business through at least next year’s iPhone model, a prominent analyst said.
Schnitzer Steel (SCHN), a top manufacturer and exporter of recycled metal products, reported fiscal Q3 EPS rose 18% while revenue grew 23% to $1.01 billion, both beating. But SCHN stock held near 16-month lows amid falling metal prices and recession worries.
Spirit Airlines (SAVE) said it will delay until July 8 a shareholder vote on a planned merger with fellow ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier (ULCC) that had been set for Thursday. Spirit said it wanted more time to continue talks with Frontier and rival suitor JetBlue (JBLU).
Constellation Brands (STZ), parent of Corona and other alcoholic beverage brands, reported fiscal first-quarter results that beat expectations. Constellation stuck with its full-year profit outlook, despite rising ingredient costs.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) beat analyst expectations for its Q1 financial results, but EPS still fell 30% and revenue sank 4% to $32.6 billion amid shrinking demand for Covid vaccinations, opioid settlements and investments in its health care business. Walgreens also decided against selling its Boots pharmacies in the U.K. due to volatile market conditions.
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